Today in Connected Consumer

I’ve long marveled at the social capabilities of the Nintendo DS, a device that was very forward thinking when it was designed in 2003/4 with the inclusion of its “picochat” capability. Picochats are, in a few words, chats for those in a wireless picocell. Kids love it and the device, for all practical purposes, has acted as a sort of training-wheels for many of today’s young texters. The latest version of the DS, the DSi, has now taken the social capabilities one step further, launching Facebook integration for the camera-enabled device. Sure, the DS is an aging franchise, but I think adding Facebook makes perfect sense for the device, since the camera and photo messaging capabilities are what truly makes the DSi a cool product.